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Editor's note: Due to next week's Annual Meeting schedule, there will be no Iowa Lawyer Weekly on June 21.

Incoming ISBA President names new section councils

Incoming President Stephen Eckley and bar leadership have named new section chairs and councils for the upcoming 2018 fiscal year. The ISBA has two dozen sections, which are each governed by a chair and council. You can view the full list of section leadership selections here.

Many of the section councils and committees will have their first organizational meeting during next week’s ISBA Annual Meeting June 19-21. Please see the attached schedule of those meetings, happening in various rooms inside the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center.

Last-minute info for Annual Meeting

The three-day ISBA Annual Meeting begins Monday but registration is still open to those interested in attending. Single-day registration is also available for those wanting to attend courses on specific days. For those needing accommodations, hotel rooms are still available at the Hampton and Holiday Inns.

Throughout the three-day event, over 80 presentations in 25 educational tracks are available for attendees to choose from. The compete CLE schedule can be found in the 32-page official event guide.

Educational tracks include probate, real estate, ag law, family law and many more. The family law track contains a case update, a review of proposed child support guidelines changes and a discussion on representing children pursuant to the amended Iowa Code §598.12.

The event has been approved for 17.5 state hours of CLE credit, which includes 4.75 ethics, 12.75 federal and 3.5 juvenile law hours.

In an effort to keep costs down, and to be as "green" as possible, the event will be paperless. Earlier this week, a link to the materials was sent via email to registered attendees. Registered attendees who did not receive the material link should contact the ISBA CLE department at cle@iowabar.org.

The law firm incubator movement comes to annual meeting

Fred Rooney started the first law firm incubator at The City University of New York’s Incubator for Justice in 2007 and is recognized in the United States and around the world as the leading expert. Today, there are over 60 existing or planned programs spanning 33 states and four countries. Thanks to The Iowa State Bar Foundation and ISBA’s generous support, Rooney will speak at the 2017 ISBA Annual Meeting during the Access to Justice Track on Tuesday, June 20, at 9:20 a.m.

Law firm incubators provide affordable legal services by lawyers to people with modest incomes, and serve a necessary role in the professional development of entrepreneurial lawyers as they create sustainable practices that narrow the justice gap. Law firm incubator curricula teach lawyers a variety of strategies including setting sliding-fees adjusted to household income, using limited-scope retainers, providing unbundled services, offering flat-rate fees, providing pro-se assistance, using installment agreements and cooperating and coordinating with nonprofit service providers.

To learn more about Fred Rooney and the law firm incubator movement now, click here to read this article from the current issue of The Iowa Lawyer. For more information, or if you would like the opportunity to meet Fred Rooney on June 20, please contact cle@iowabar.org and include “Law Firm Incubators” in the subject line.

NEW LAWYER SUPPORT GROUP CREATED BY ISBA MEMBER

Stress, burnout, unhappiness: these are matters of concern that many attorneys face during their careers. If you would like assistance dealing with them, consider joining Des Moines’ new lawyer support group called LawLife.

LawLife offers a men’s and women’s support setting, facilitated by ISBA member Larry Scanlon, who is also a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) with Kardia Counseling in Clive.

Group support meetings will eventually be held weekly over the lunch hour.

Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Wednesday that she will appoint Jerry Foxhoven, a well-known and highly respected leader in child protection and family law, to serve as director of the Iowa Department of Human Services. Foxhoven will begin his new position Thursday.

Foxhoven, 64, began practicing law in 1977 with an emphasis on trial practice in criminal and civil law, as well as juvenile and family law cases. In 2000, he began as administrator for the Iowa Child Advocacy Board. In 2006, Foxhoven became director of the Joan & Lyle Middleton Center for Children’s Rights, a state and national advocacy center focusing on children’s rights issues. He also joined Drake Law School as a clinical professor. Most recently, Foxhoven served as executive director of Clinical Programs and Professor of Law at Drake University’s School of Law.

ABA opposes federal bill that would impose caps in med-mal cases

The ABA on Monday sent a letter to House lawmakers urging a no vote on a bill that imposes a federal cap of $250,000 on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases.

The letter says Congress should not substitute its judgment for that of the states, which are “the repositories of experience and expertise” in matters involving medical liability and insurance.

The bill, known as the Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017, also would eliminate joint and several liability and would authorize courts to reduce contingent fees. The ABA opposes those provisions as well.

No. 15-0862Amended June 12, 2017 ROBERTO MORALES DIAZ vs. STATE OF IOWA
Roberto Morales Diaz seeks further review of a court of appeals decision reversing the district court’s grant of postconviction relief.DECISION OF COURT OF APPEALS VACATED; DISTRICT COURT JUDGMENT AFFIRMED AND CASE REMANDED

No. 15-0871STATE OF IOWA vs. JOHN DAVID GREEN
John David Green seeks further review of a court of appeals decision affirming his conviction of murder in the second degree. AFFIRMED

No. 15-1131LARRY SHAWN WHITWER vs. CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF SIOUX CITY, IOWA
A civil service commission appeals a district court’s reinstatement of a civil service employee after he was terminated pursuant to a lastchance agreement. REVERSED

Divided Iowa high court halts prosecution of 'Dreamer'Iowa cannot prosecute a “Dreamer” and mother of four for using another person’s Social Security number prior to her acceptance into the Obama administration’s deferred-action immigration program, the state’s high court ruled in a 4-3 decision.Courthouse News

Plea deal reached in lottery scam that included Iowa, other statesAccused multistate lottery fraudster Eddie Tipton pleaded guilty Monday to Wisconsin felony charges he rigged a lottery there in 2007 and agreed to plead guilty in Iowa to the felony of ongoing criminal conduct, officials said, ending a bizarre case that came to light with a mysterious 2010 Hot Lotto drawing.The Gazette